Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years Collection
by Ray Harryhausen
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DVD Cover Information
Director: Ray HarryhausenBrand: Sparkhill
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Animated, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Digital Sound, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Restored, Subtitled, Surround Sound
Running Time: 233 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-02-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Sparkhill
Movie Reviews of Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years Collection
Movie Review: A must for Harryhausen fans!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're a big fan of Ray Harryhausen -- and what movie lover isn't? -- then you've probably already heard about and maybe even picked up this excellent 2-disc set dedicated to his early (pre-1953) work. If you haven't picked it up yet, then I urge you to do so immediately. As the other two reviewers have noted, this set's centerpieces are Ray's charming Mother Goose Stories and Fairy Tales, along with experimental training films for the army and some commercials. These shorts have been restored beautifully and are accompanied by brief but informative intros from the master himself.
Taken as a whole, however, the set is also a retrospective -- sort of a companion piece to Ray's own recent autobiography. There are plenty of extras (interviews and such) from the last five years, demonstrating just how fully Ray has been receiving his well-deserved kudos. If that isn't enough, then check out the brief snippets of projects that Ray left incomplete for various reasons, including test footage for an alien from War of the Worlds. (And how tantalizing and compelling are those sketches and test footage for The Elementals? What a shame it was never picked up! It looks like it might have been Ray's darkest and most stylized film.)
No real complaints. Just be aware that the 50-odd-year-old 16mm shorts show a little wear and tear, despite the restoration work. (A couple of credit sequences appear to be cropped, but it doesn't show in the films themselves.) There's also a little repetition in some of the extras, but the extras themselves focus pretty consistently on the material in the set. This was obviously a labor of love for everyone involved (especially Harryhausen himself), and it promises to be the best special interest DVD of the year! Very highly recommended!
Summary of Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years Collection
For over a half century, Ray Harryhausen has amazed and inspired countless filmmakers and fans around the world with his breathtaking motion picture effects and stop-motion animation. presented here for the first time ever is the authorized collection of his earliest work, along with hours of supplemental features.Similar DVD Movies
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